“Redemption is not complete till the resurrection, not only with respect
to the positive good and happiness that is obtained, but also with
respect to what they are redeemed and delivered from. So long as the
separation between soul and body remains, one of those evils remains
that is part of the penalty of the law; one of our enemies remains. The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Death and hades, or a state
of separation, are two evils that shall be at the last day cast into
the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). To be without the body is in itself
an evil, because 'tis a want of that which the soul of man naturally
inclines to and desires. And though it causes no uneasiness in the
departed spirits of the saints, it is not because they don't want it,
but because their certain hope and clear prospect of it, and
apprehension how much it will be best for them, and most for their
happiness to receive it in the time that God's wisdom determines,
satisfies them till that time and is a full remedy against all
uneasiness; and they perfectly rest in the hope and prospect and trust
in God that they have. There is something that they still want, and
their rest and satisfaction is not a rest of enjoyment, but a rest of
perfect and glorious trust and hope.”
Thus wrote Jonathan Edwards, when reflecting on the wonderful Christian hope. He suggests that because being without a body is in
itself an evil, our salvation will only be complete when the Lord gives
us a new body. Contemporary Christians sometimes overlook this important
aspect, focusing exclusively on the salvation of the soul. Some
Christian writers have even gone so far as to suggest that our spirits
will never be reunited with our body, but that we will be non-corporeal
throughout all of eternity.
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2 comments:
Would Jonathan Edwards approve of you using an icon of the Resurrection? Hmm. (I approve, though.)
No, Edwards would not be amused.
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